Abusive parents must not win by playing race card

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Parents who beat and harm their children are experts at justifying their actions

Parents who beat and harm their children are experts at justifying their
actions, and social workers are familiar with most excuses. But lobbing
religion, culture or ethnicity into the mix too often throws
child-protection professionals into confusion. If strict discipline is part
of this family’s faith or culture, maybe it would be wrong to classify it as
abuse? Fearful of charges of racism, they back off.

Joanna Nicolas, a consultant social worker, said that a charge of racism is
often the first line of defence from parents harming their children.